Christopher Crawford: Documentary Photography

Time Corners Barber Shop

When I was a young boy, I always went with my grandpa, Charles Crawford, to get my hair cut. Our barber was Phil Luginbill, the owner of Time Corners Barber Shop. Phil's shop was at Westland Mall, a small indoor shopping center at the corner of West Jefferson Boulevard and Getz Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

When I was a teenager, I grew my hair long and stopped going to the barber. Grandpa eventually started getting his hair cut in Roanoke, the small town where my uncle lived.

In the fall of 2013, I drove by Westland Mall and noticed that the barber pole by the mall entrance near the barber shop was still there. I decided to stop in and see if Phil was still there after all these years. A woman and a young man were working there, and they turned out to be Phil's daughter and grandson! He wasn't working that day, but they told me to come back a few days later.

I went back on October 19th, and introduced myself and my son to Phil. He remembered my grandpa and I after all these years! It had been about 25 years since he had last cut my hair. I made some portraits of him and did some photographs of the shop, which has changed very little since I was a kid.